The United States has sought "solid" assurances from Pakistan it will take steps to prevent freed nuclear scientist A Q Khan from nuclear proliferation in the future, a senior US official said on Monday. US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson met Pakistani government officials on Sunday to express US concern over the Pakistani High Court ruling on Friday that declared Khan a free citizen, said a senior State Department official.
"They have given us assurances that he will not be any kind of a danger with regard to proliferation but we want to make sure that these assurances are solid and that they can explain to us how they plan to do that," said the official, who spoke on condition he was not named. "We want to make sure that they live up to their word," he added.
Asked what action Washington wanted, the official cited the example of further restricting Khan's movements, adding that the nuclear scientist already had to notify the government 48 hours in advance if he wanted to travel outside of Islamabad.
"I am sure there is more that Pakistan can do and we expect and hope they will do more to ensure he is no longer a proliferation risk," he added. The US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, also was expected to raise the issue during talks in Islamabad on Monday and Tuesday with Pakistani officials.